Reviewing Illinois Tool Works (NYSE:ITW) & Tri-Tech (OTCMKTS:TRITF)

Illinois Tool Works (NYSE:ITW) and Tri-Tech (OTCMKTS:TRITF) are both industrials companies, but which is the better stock? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their dividends, earnings, profitability, institutional ownership, risk, valuation and analyst recommendations.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

79.8% of Illinois Tool Works shares are held by institutional investors. 0.8% of Illinois Tool Works shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 44.3% of Tri-Tech shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Volatility & Risk

Illinois Tool Works has a beta of 1.13, indicating that its stock price is 13% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Tri-Tech has a beta of 36.31, indicating that its stock price is 3,531% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of recent ratings and target prices for Illinois Tool Works and Tri-Tech, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Illinois Tool Works	5	7	2	0	1.79
Tri-Tech	0	0	0	0	0.00

Illinois Tool Works presently has a consensus target price of $270.00, indicating a potential downside of 0.76%. Given Tri-Tech’s higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe Tri-Tech is more favorable than Illinois Tool Works.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares Illinois Tool Works and Tri-Tech”s gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Illinois Tool Works	$16.04 billion	4.88	$3.07 billion	$10.49	25.93
Tri-Tech	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A

Illinois Tool Works has higher revenue and earnings than Tri-Tech.

Profitability

This table compares Illinois Tool Works and Tri-Tech’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Illinois Tool Works	19.11%	95.16%	19.22%
Tri-Tech	N/A	N/A	N/A

Summary

Illinois Tool Works beats Tri-Tech on 7 of the 10 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Illinois Tool Works

Illinois Tool Works Inc. manufactures and sells industrial products and equipment in the United States and internationally. It operates through seven segments: Automotive OEM; Food Equipment; Test & Measurement and Electronics; Welding; Polymers & Fluids; Construction Products; and Specialty Products. The Automotive OEM segment offers plastic and metal components, fasteners, and assemblies for automobiles, light trucks, and other industrial uses. The Food Equipment segment provides warewashing, refrigeration, cooking, and food processing equipment; kitchen exhaust, ventilation, and pollution control systems; and food equipment maintenance and repair services. The Test & Measurement and Electronics segment produces and sells equipment, consumables, and related software for testing and measuring of materials and structures, as well as equipment and consumables used in the production of electronic subassemblies and microelectronics. The Welding segment produces arc welding equipment; and metal arc welding consumables and related accessories. The Polymers & Fluids segment produces adhesives, sealants, lubrication and cutting fluids, and fluids and polymers for auto aftermarket maintenance and appearance. The Construction Products segment offers engineered fastening systems and solutions for the residential construction, renovation/remodel, and commercial construction markets. The Specialty Products segment provides beverage packaging equipment and consumables, product coding and marking equipment and consumables, and appliance components and fasteners. It serves the automotive OEM and tiers, MRO, commercial food equipment, construction, general industrial, industrial capital goods, consumer durables, automotive aftermarket end, and other markets. The company distributes its products directly to industrial manufacturers, as well as through independent distributors. Illinois Tool Works Inc. was founded in 1912 and is based in Glenview, Illinois.

About Tri-Tech

Tri-Tech Holding Inc. provides consulting, engineering, procurement, construction, and technical services. Its Water, Wastewater Treatment and Municipal Infrastructure segment procures and constructs build-transfer processing equipment and processing control systems for the municipal water supply and distribution, wastewater treatment, and gray water recycling activities; and offers municipal facilities engineering and operation management services for related infrastructure construction projects. The company's Industrial Pollution Control and Safety segment provides systems for volatile organic compounds abatement, odor control, water and wastewater treatment, water recycling facilities design, engineering, procurement, and construction for oil, gas, petrochemical, and power industries. The company serves government, state-owned entities, and commercial clients. Tri-Tech Holding Inc. was incorporated in 2002 and is based in Beijing, the People's Republic of China.